HE likes fish fingers, chicken nuggets, enjoys high-fiving people he meets and exploring YouTube - and putting favourite videos on repeat.

But Kian Kelly can't speak, doesn't like anything touching his ears and might start crying or screaming in certain shops.

The excited four-year-old has autism and his parents are learning everything they can to open up the best opportunities for their son.

Though Kian is frequently smiling, it can be hard to catch it in a photograph, which is why his mum Jacqueline and staff at My Little Fishes Nursery were in tears at the beaming grin when we took nursery graduation photos recently.

Catching a smile in a photo is an achievement to celebrate, says his mum.

"A smile is really rewarding," she said. "He will not wear hats so I knew he would look different from everyone else in the graduation photo. He had his tablet because I knew he would need it to sit down.

"But he just put his tablet down and smiled. I was crying and a couple of his key workers were crying.

"He will not look directly at you - we work on eye contact quite a lot. We sit down at his level so he can see us properly."

Jacqueline, a practice manager for an optician, and her husband Paddy, a civil engineer, noticed early that Kian wasn't speaking by the age of two but still had to wait for a formal diagnosis last August at age three and a half, key to accessing any services and support.

Kian still uses nappies as he is afraid of the toilet and wouldn't be able to cope in a mainstream primary - he is unable to communicate his needs.

Instead he will be attending Highpark Primary's specialist Language and Communication Resource (LCR) unit and Jacqueline said the work of the nursery staff was exceptional in supporting Kian in his time there.

"It's very difficult sometimes. It's hard," she admitted. "I don't think people understand. We have always taken him shopping as we don't want to exclude him from anything. Has has to have a table to keep him calm.

"Some shops are worse for noise or lighting thant others and he just starts crying or screaming. He holds his tablet up to his ear, as if he was tring to block the noise out.

"He flaps a lot as well and you see people looking - people try to come over and talk to him and you say he doesn't speak. 'What do you mean?'

"Kian might never speak. He could in a couple months time or a year or never. It's very dfficult.

"It makes him different but it makes me worry that life is going to be 10 times more difficult growing up and I don't want his life to be difficult."

Together with daughter Payton, six, the Garscadden family are learning about autism.

"It's lonely," said Jacqueline. "We have to be on a waiting list to get everything - it's upsetting.

"I'm trying to get on courses to help me understand him better. But with us both working, it's hard to get on them.

"We're not as isolated as we were - speaking to other mums and dads about their different children.

"If he had been my first, I might not have noticed sooner. A lot of parents don't notice until they're in school. We pushed for the diagnosis . We knew more than a year - we were just hoping it would come."

She added: "My husband and I and even Payton helps - we just get on with it now. We have adapted to Kian.

"You celebrate the little achievements like him learning how to high-five or a smile in a photograph."